The New School is a university in New York City, United States, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York educators, and for most of its history, the university was known as the The New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University. The university and each of its colleges were renamed in 2005.

Some 9,300 students are enrolled in graduate and undergraduate degree programs, organized into seven different schools, which teach a variety of disciplines, including the social sciences, liberal arts, humanities, architecture, fine arts, design, music, drama, finance, psychology and public policy.[7]

The graduate school of The New School began in 1933 as the University in Exile, an emergency rescue program for threatened scholars in Europe. In 1934 it was chartered by the New York state board of regents and its name was changed to the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, a name it would keep until 2005 when it was renamed New School for Social Research.

In October 1917, after Columbia University passed a resolution that imposed a loyalty oath to the United States government upon the entire faculty and student body,[9] the board of trustees fired Professor of Psychology and Head of the Department James McKeen Cattell for having sent a petition to three US congressmen, asking them not to support legislation for military conscription.[10] Other firings included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana (grandson of the poet) and Leon Fraser. Charles A. Beard, Professor of Political Science, resigned his professorship at Columbia in protest. James Harvey Robinson, an associate of Beard's at Columbia and Professor of History, commented on the resignation: "It is not that any of us are pro-German or disloyal. It is simply that we fear that a condition of repression may arise in this country similar to that which we laughed at in Germany."[11] Robinson would resign in 1919 to join the faculty at the New School.

The University in Exile was founded in 1933 as a graduate division of the New School for Social Research to be a haven for scholars who had been dismissed from teaching positions by the Italian fascists or had to flee Nazi Germany.[15] The University in Exile was initially founded by the director of the New School, Alvin Johnson, through the generous financial contributions of Hiram Halle and the Rockefeller Foundation. It was later renamed the "Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science," and bore this name until changing to its present one in 2005. The University in Exile and its subsequent incarnations have been the intellectual heart of the New School. Notable scholars associated with the University in Exile include psychologists Erich Fromm, Max Wertheimer and Aron Gurwitsch, political philosophers Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss, and philosopher Hans Jonas.

Following the collapse of totalitarian regimes in Europe, the University in Exile was renamed the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science. In 2005 the Graduate Faculty was again renamed, this time taking the original name of the university, the New School for Social Research.

I attended The New School for Social Research for only a year, but what a year it was. The school and New York itself had become a sanctuary for hundreds of extraordinary European Jews who had fled Germany and other countries before and during World War II, and they were enriching the city's intellectual life with an intensity that has probably never been equaled anywhere during a comparable period of time.

Former U.S. SenatorBob Kerrey became president of The New School in 2000. Kerrey drew praise and criticism for his streamlining of the university, as well as censure for his support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, generally opposed by the university's faculty.[19] In 2004, Kerrey appointed Arjun Appadurai as provost. Appadurai resigned as provost in early 2006, but retained a tenured faculty position. He was succeeded by Joseph Westphal, yet on December 8, 2008 Kerrey announced that Westphal was stepping down to accept a position in President Barack Obama's Department of Defense transition team. Kerrey then took the highly unorthodox step of appointing himself to the provost position while remaining president. This decision was strongly criticised by faculty and other members of the university community as a power-grab involving potential conflicts of interest. This was seen as a threat to scholarly integrity since the role of provost in overseeing the academic functions of a university has traditionally been insulated from fundraising and other responsibilities of a college president. After a series of rifts including protests involving student occupations of university buildings, Kerrey later appointed Tim Marshall, Dean of Parsons The New School for Design, as Interim Provost through June 2011. Marshall has since been reappointed in this role.

On May 7, 2009, Kerrey announced he would fulfill his presidency at the University through the end of his term and expressed his intent to leave office in June 2011.[20] However, he ended up resigning a semester early, on January 1, 2011.[21] His successor was Dr. David E. Van Zandt.[22]

In 2014, The New School opened its new University Center at 14th Street and Fifth Avenue.[23] This building, designed by the New York firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, adds new residences, classrooms, and event facilities to the downtown New York City campus.[24]

Unlike most U.S. universities, The New School has a "student-directed curriculum", which does not require its undergraduates to take general education courses. Instead, students are encouraged to explore before focusing on a major, selecting topics that are of interest to them. Although all "New Schoolers" are required to complete rigorous core training—usually of a literary, conservatory, or artistic nature—students are expected to be the primary designer of their own individualized and eclectic education.

The New School's curriculum is highly experimental and avant-garde, offering classes such as: "Heterodox Identities," "Games 101," "NYC: Graphic Gotham," "Punk & Noise," "Masculinity in Asia," "Queer Culture," and "Play and Toil in the Digital Sweatshop."[25] The New School also offers a course titled "Social Media: The Power to Speak the Truth." The course explores the transformative history of the Internet and provides a working knowledge of the tools it offers for journalism and public action.

The university offers 81 degree/diploma programs and majors, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1.[26] This small class size allows The New School to teach most of its classes in the seminar style—especially at Eugene Lang College, which consistently ranks at the top of The Princeton Review's "class discussions encouraged" national listing.[27]

BIAS: Journal of Dress Practice published by the MA Fashion Studies Dress Practice Collective started in the spring of 2013 and aims to join elements of "visual culture, fashion theory, design studies and personal practice through a variety of media."

The Weekly Observer, an online newsletter showcasing major student and alumni achievements, special program announcements, and other university-wide news. Distributed via MyNewSchool web portal

Twenty-five percent of New School students are international,[28] with 105 foreign countries being represented at the university. U.S. students come from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 41% of them are people of color, and 38.5% of American students identify as more than one race.[26] Of the entire student population, 74% receive financial aid, and 17% study abroad before graduating.

The Huffington Post ranks The New School in "The Top Thirteen Non-Traditional Colleges" in the United States. In the U.S. News & World Report ranked #1 in the nation for small class sizes, and #1 in the nation for international student enrollment.[28][29][30][31]The Princeton Review ranks the university among "America's 371 Best Colleges" and the "Best Northeastern Colleges."[32]Independent Magazine ranks it nationally in the "Top Ten Academic Programs for Aspiring Screenwriters", citing its MA in Media Studies and Certificate of Screenwriting.[33]

Currently, the university is undergoing a "major expansion and renovation," as indicated on the back of 2009-2010 student handbooks.[34] The New School is currently constructing a 16-story University Center at 65 5th Avenue. The tower, which was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill's Roger Duffy, is the biggest capital project the university has ever undertaken, and will include new classrooms, dormitories, a library, and lecture hall.[35] While the 65 Fifth Avenue plans were initially controversial among students and Village residents (spurring in 2009 a major student occupation was held at The New School's previous building on that site), plans for the University Center were adjusted in response to community concerns and have since been well received. In a review of the University Center's final design, New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff called the building "a celebration of the cosmopolitan city." The building is set to open in fall 2013.[36]

Several of the university buildings are certified by New York City as historical landmarks. Prominent among these is the egg-shaped Tishman Auditorium, considered by many to be the first building to employ modern architecture. It was designed by architect Joseph Urban, along with the entirety of The New School's historic 66 West 12th Street building. Thousands of writer's forums, author visits, political debates, award ceremonies, academic lectures, performances, and public hearings are held for both the academic community and general public throughout the year in Tishman.

Newer buildings have garnered a multitude of awards. Among these is The Sheila Johnson Design Center, which attracted media attention for its revolutionary design. In 2009, it won the SCUP's Excellence in Architecture Renovation/Adaptive Reuse Award.[37] In addition to being a Parsons core academic building, the Center also serves as a public art gallery.[38] The New School Welcome Center, located on 13th Street and Fifth Avenue, won the American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter's Interiors Merit Award in 2010.[39]

The New School was also the first college in America to offer education to adults.[40]

13th Street Residence Hall: A facility primarily serving first-year students, 13th Street Residence is popular for its close proximity to academic buildings and location just seconds away from the university's flagship library, Fogelman.[41]

Loeb Hall: Loeb Hall is a co-ed residence hall located on 12th Street in the East Village. After the relocation of Student Health Services (which was once housed in Loeb), the lobby has been renovated.[42]

Stuyvesant Park Residence: Located in the East Village near Stuyvesant Town. It overlooks Stuyvesant Park and the Manhattan skyline. The residence consists of suite-style rooms and houses mostly first-year students.[43]

Kerrey Hall at the University Center Residence: The New School's newest dormitory, "located on floors 8-16 of [the] new University Center at 5th Avenue and 14th Street, is a LEED-certified state-of-the-art residence that will house 617 [primarily undergraduate] students."[44]

Former residence halls:

20th Street Residence Hall: Located in Chelsea, 20th Street Residence offered some of the university's largest suites and housed mostly returning students and graduate students. It closed at end of the Spring 2014 semester.

William Street Residence: Located in Lower Manhattan near South Street Seaport. William Street was one of The New School's largest residence halls. It closed at the end of the Spring 2013 semester.

The university's legacy of supporting the freedom of artistic expression began in 1931 with the commissioning of two historically significant mural cycles: José Clemente Orozco's "A Call for Revolution" and "Universal Brotherhood" and Thomas Hart Benton's epic America Today. The New School Art Collection[46] was established in 1960 with a grant from the Albert A. List Foundation. The collection, now grown to approximately 1,800 postwar and contemporary works of art, includes examples in almost all media. Parts of it are exhibited throughout the campus. Notable artists such as Andy Warhol, Kara Walker, Richard Serra, and Sol LeWitt all have pieces displayed in New School's academic buildings.[47]

In June 2005, the university was officially renamed "The New School" and, in order to better promote the common affiliation of the divisions, the academic units were renamed to prominently feature the New School name.

Some faculty, students, and alumni have expressed concern over the rebranding of the university, and especially the dramatic redesign of the logo from a six-sided shield against a green background to a spray-painted graffiti mark reading simply, in capital letters, "THE NEW SCHOOL" with, in smaller letters beneath, "A UNIVERSITY." They claim that the university's new identity campaign, while maintaining a slick urban edge, does little to suggest academic rigor or collegiate legacy.[48][49]

The name change came about in part to consolidate the divisions under one banner, and in part as an official recognition of the shorthand name for the school used by students, faculty and New Yorkers in general.[50]

The University Student Senate is composed of students from every division. Its composition is Parsons - 5, Lang - 3, New School for Public Engagement - 3, New School Social Research -2, Jazz - 1, and Mannes - 1. The USS acts as the connection between students and administration, serving the needs and concerns of the students. The duties of the USS include giving a political statement regarding macro issues within the school (gender neutral bathrooms, divestment, etc.), as well as micro issues. Additionally, the USS provide a cap of $5,000 funding for initiatives that serves the entire New School.

Lang Student Union (LSU)

Parsons Student Senate (PSS)

Executive Director's Student Advisory Council (at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music)

The New School houses over 50 recognized student organizations, most of which are geared towards artistic endeavors or civic engagement.[51] Notable among these are The Theatre Collective, which stages numerous dramatic productions throughout the year, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Debate Team, ReNew School (sustainability and environmental advocacy group) Moxie (feminist alliance), the New Urban Grilling Society (NUGS), and The Radical Student Union (RSU).

A noted student newspaper, The New School Free Press, is widely distributed throughout the campus. Hard print copies are available in most academic buildings, while an online edition is available as well. Students at Eugene Lang College can edit and submit to Release, a student-run literary magazine. WNSR, a student-run, faculty-advised online-only radio station, also operates at the university. Programming is currently delivered in the form of streamable mp3s and, in the near future, subscribable podcasts. It is a station for all divisions of The New School.[52]

Current Athletics and Recreation Director Diane Yee joined The New School in August 2012. On October 25, 2012 a school-wide election was held to select a mascot, where The New School Narwhals were born. On January 25, 2013 the athletics logo was launched, designed by Parsons’ student Matthew Wolff (G '14). Gnarls the Narwhal first came on the scene on August 29, 2013 at the 17th Annual Block Party. He has been a fan favorite ever since, making appearances at many sporting and campus events around the city.

The department began in December 2008 under its original name Recreation and Intramural sports. The initial director, Michael McQuarrie, held the position for 4 years. He built a relationship with the McBurney YMCA where intramurals continue to be held on Wednesday night's and created the ongoing New School Olympics and charitable 5K Turkey Trot.

The Narwhals feature several intercollegiate teams: basketball (2009), cross country (2010), cycling (2013), soccer (2013), tennis (2014), ultimate Frisbee (2014). The New School Narwhals are an independent school, unaffiliated with the NCAA, but regularly compete against NCAA Division III schools.

Cross Country – competes in CUNYAC and HVIAC conference invitationals as an unaffiliated school

Cycling – a member of the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference

Soccer – competes against Cooper Union, Culinary Institute of America, St. Joseph’s College, and Vaughn College

In addition to sports, the recreation department offers a myriad of free fitness classes to its community including Bollywood, boxing, dance, HIIT, Pilates, T’ai Chi, yoga, and Zumba. Personal training is also offered at an affordable rate ranging from $16.50-$40/session.

Outdoor Adventure trips are offered several times/week and what started to be wilderness in nature (camping, hiking, rafting) has expanded to include excursions such as archery, biking, horseback riding, skiing/snowboarding, surfing, rock climbing and trapeze.

Yee has increased programming to include a second charitable race that takes place annually in April called the 5K Rabbit Run. She has also started the Urban Hunt (a scavenger hunt around campus and the Village) and Club New (a dance party for first-year students the weekend before first day of classes). Her biggest accomplishment is creating Narwhal Nation. The students now have a sense of community and a way to bring all seven schools together.

Each August, community residents, the university, and local businesses stop traffic on the 12th street block for one afternoon. A massive block party is then thrown, celebrating the return of New School students to Greenwich Village. Another block party is held in the spring, usually during one of the first warm weeks of the semester.

The Fusion Fashion Show is one of The New School's, and New York City's, biggest industry events. Each year, first and second-year undergraduates from Parsons compete directly with the fashion program's fiercest rival—Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)—in the show, vying for awards and the title of best overall school.

The New School annually hosts the Parsons Fashion Benefit, which is consistently attended by celebrities and industry moguls. It showcases the work of the current graduating class and raises money to fund scholarships for the fashion design program.[53]

Every April, the university celebrates V-Day for two weeks.[54] Originally started by the student feminist organization Moxie (which has since disbanded), "V-Day at The New School" has been adopted by the community and become a major part of campus life. In conjunction with V-Day, the university also recognizes each April as Sexual Assault and Prevention Awareness Month. During this time, T-shirts painted with feminist art and statements against sexual and domestic violence are hung on a clothesline in the windows of every major academic building. This is done as part of the Clothesline Project, and seeks to engage the public with New School's activist community.[55]

New School's annual Take Back the Night March is also held during April. In this event, students lead the university community through the streets of Greenwich Village in a public demonstration against sexual violence.[55]

Historically, The New School has been associated with leftist politics, campus activism, civic engagement, and social change.[56] It is a "Periclean University", or member Project Pericles, meaning that it teaches "education for social responsibility and participatory citizenship as an essential part of their educational programs, in the classroom, on the campus, and in the community."[57] The New School is one of nine American universities to be inducted into Ashoka's "Changemaker" consortium for social entrepreneurship.[58]

In 2010, NYC Service awarded New School special recognition in The College Challenge, a volunteer initiative, for the "widest array of [civic] service events both on and off campus."[59] Miriam Weinstein also cites the Eugene Lang division in her book, Making a Difference Colleges: Distinctive Colleges to Make a Better World.[60]

Currently, The Princeton Review gives the university a sustainability rating of 94 out of 99.[32] In 2010, the organization also named The New School one of America's "286 Green Colleges."[61]

The university signed the Presidents' Climate Commitment and PlaNYC. The institution's sustainability website outlines many goals and projects for the future which will hopefully help The New School receive a good rating in the 2010 College Sustainability Report Card.[62][63]

The New School has a student led environment and sustainability group, called Renew School, as well as full-time employees devoted to the school's sustainability.

In 2003, adjunct faculty in several divisions of the New School began to form a labor union chapter under the auspices of the United Auto Workers. Though the university at first tried to contest the unionization, after several rulings against it by regional and national panels of the National Labor Relations Board the university recognized the local chapter, ACT-UAW, as the bargaining agent for the faculty. As a result of a near strike in November 2005 on the part of the adjunct faculty, the ACT-UAW union negotiated its first contract which included the acknowledgment of previously unrecognized part-time faculty at Mannes College The New School for Music.

John McCain's speech at the graduation ceremony of 2006 generated a large amount of media attention, due to vocal student opposition in print,[64] radio,[65] and television[66] media, and the speech of Jean Rohe, a graduating senior who spoke before McCain and directly confronted the controversy, saying that the senator "does not reflect the values upon which the university was founded."[67]

In 2007, New School trustee and long-time Clinton fundraiser Norman Hsu was arrested after being found to fleeing from the authorities after a felony theft conviction.[68] In 2008, he was convicted and sentenced to three years prison for defrauding millions of dollars of investors' money in an intricate Ponzi scheme. In response, the Hillary Clinton campaign returned $850,000 of his campaign contributions.[69]

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States held its eleventh public hearing May 18–19, 2004, at New School University in New York City. The two-day hearing examined the response of local and federal emergency response departments on September 11, 2001, and considered how to improve these critical functions in the event of future terrorist attacks. The Commission heard from the current and former top-level officials in the fire, police, and emergency management departments of New York City, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Arlington County, Virginia. Secretary of Homeland Security Thomas J. Ridge and former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani also testified. Two staff statements were presented during the course of the hearing. "At this hearing, the Commission turns its attention to the day of September 11, 2001. We will focus on what confronted civilians and first responders during the attacks, how they made decisions under adverse conditions, and what first responders communicated to civilians and to each other," said Commission Chair Thomas H. Kean. “The Commission also will explore the state of the emergency preparedness and response today,” said Commission Vice Chair Lee H. Hamilton. "We will examine what steps have been taken since 9-11 to improve our preparedness against terrorist attacks and other emergencies, and whether we need national standards of preparedness."[72]

On December 10, 2008, 74 of the New School's senior professors gave a vote of no confidence for the New School's former president, Bob Kerrey. By December 15, 98% of the university's full-time faculty had voted no confidence.[73]

On December 17, over 100 students barricaded themselves in at a dining hall on the campus while hundreds more waited on the streets outside. They considered the current school administration opaque and harmful. Their chief demand, among others, was that Bob Kerrey resign.[74] The students soon enlarged their occupied area, blocking security and police from entering the building. At 3 AM the next morning, the students left the building after Kerrey agreed to some of their demands (the most important elements on their first list of demands were not agreed to), including increased study space and amnesty from any actions performed during the protest. He did not, however, concede to resignation.[75] In total, the occupation lasted 30 hours.

In January 2009, a student organization called The New School In Exile issued a public threat to shut down the university on April 1, unless the President and Chief Operating Officer were removed. They subsequently stole an entire edition of the student newspaper, after the paper published an article revealing their plans and names, and defaced the university's presidential residence.[citation needed]

On April 10, 2009, students, mostly from New School but also from other New York colleges, reoccupied the building at 65 Fifth Avenue, this time holding the entire building for about six hours. Once again, the students demanded the resignation of Bob Kerrey. The New York Police Department arrested the occupiers; the New School students involved were then suspended.[76][77] Controversy arose because some students who were not directly involved in the occupation were beaten by police and arrested as well.

On August 26, 2010, a letter was sent out stating that the board of trustees had approved the appointment of Dr. David E. Van Zandt, who succeeded Bob Kerrey and become the 8th president of the New School.

In 1986, P.M. Rutkoff and W.B. Scott wrote New School: A History of The New School For Social Research, a book about the university's history.[78]

Claus-Dieter Krohn's Intellectuals In Exile: Refugee Scholars at The New School for Social Research was translated into English and released by the University of Massachusetts Press in 1993. The book is an in-depth examination of The New School, the University in Exile, and the work of scholars who worked within these institutions.[79]

After Eugene Lang College ranked #1 nationally in the Princeton Review's "Intramural Sports Unpopular or Nonexistent" category, ESPN featured "In Search of the Worst Sports College In America", an article about The New School.[80]

In the reality TV series Driving Force, John Force's daughter takes a tour of The New School.

Student activism at The New School is mentioned in the graphic novel Students For A Democratic Society: A Graphic History.

New School Political Science and Liberal Studies Professor James Miller's book Democracy is in the Streets: From Port Huron to The Siege of Chicago (1987), which chronicles the rise and fall of the 1960s organization Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), was featured as recommended reading in the insert for the alternative band Rage Against The Machine's 1996 album Evil Empire.

The New School is mentioned humorously in several New York City based sitcoms, such as 30 Rock and Will & Grace.

According to the university's "Quick Facts" page, New School has a living alumni pool of over 56,000 and graduates live in 112 different countries.[26]

Jack Kerouac also attended the New School in the fall of 1949 under a G.I. benefits scheme for returned service men and women, (he lasted through only 10 days of boot camp)[82] which included a stipend and book allowance.

On the television series Friends, multiple episodes feature references to, or scenes at, the New School. Monica and Joey take a culinary course in one episode, while Rachel and Phoebe take a literature course together in another.

In Michael Mann's film Heat (1995), the Robert De Niro character Neil MacCauley's girlfriend Eady (Amy Brenneman) claims to have gone to school at Parsons for graphic design.

Paul Weston, the psychotherapist who is the protagonist of the HBO drama In Treatment, received his Ph.D. from The New School.